NZ TV Awards Names 2024’s TV Legend & Personality Of The Year Finalists Revealed

(Auckland – 29 October 2024) The New Zealand Television Awards is delighted to announce this year’s TV Legend and the 2024 finalists for the publicly-voted TV Personality of the Year category.

2024 TV Legend Dame Julie Christie has transformed the television landscape in New Zealand. A former journalist and a multi-award-winning creator and producer of unscripted formats in 30 countries, her work on shows like Treasure Island, Dragons’ Den, My House My Castle, and Trading Places has not only captivated audiences but also shaped the way local television is produced and consumed.

On behalf of the New Zealand Television Awards, Committee member Kelly Martin said: “Dame Julie Christie has been a driving force behind some of New Zealand’s most successful television series, many of which have achieved international acclaim and adaptation. She has opened doors for countless individuals, inspiring not only those dedicated to telling New Zealand stories but also performers across a wide range of genres, including reality TV, comedy, sports, drama, and factual programming ensuring her legacy within the industry remains strong.

Dame Julie’s belief in working hard and playing even harder has truly stood the test of time and her influence and commitment have significantly shaped the television landscape, making her contributions to the industry more than worthy of this award.”

The prestigious TV Legend Award is presented to a television professional, programme or organisation who has made a significant contribution to the television industry in New Zealand over the span of their career. It is a special honour given at the discretion of the New Zealand Television Awards Committee.

Previous TV Legend honourees include writer, actor and director Oscar Kightley (2023), television producer Janine Morrell-Gunn (2022), actor and director Ian Mune (2021), television executive Andrew Shaw (2020), Shortland Street (2019), iconic Māori broadcaster and journalist Tini Molyneux (2018) and veteran producer John Barnett (2017).

The New Zealand Television Awards is also delighted to announce the 10 finalists in this year’s TV Personality of the Year category.

The TV Personality of the Year award is the only publicly-voted category within the New Zealand Television Awards. Previous winners include: Aesha Scott (2023), Bree Tomasel (2022), Nicola ‘Nix’ Adams (2021), Hilary Barry (2020), Matty McLean (2019), Hayley Holt (2018), and Toni Street (2017).

The TV Personality of the Year finalists for 2024 are:

Patrick Gower - Paddy Gower Has Issues (Warner Bros. Discovery / Three & ThreeNow)
Paul Henry - The Traitors Season 1 (Warner Bros. Discovery / Three & ThreeNow)
Paul Williams - Taskmaster Season 4 (TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+)
Melissa Chan Green - AM (Warner Bros. Discovery / Three & ThreeNow)
James Mustapic - Celebrity Treasure Island NZ Season 7 (TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+)
Tāmati Rimene-Sproat – Hikoi Speaking Our Truth (TVNZ 1 & TVNZ+)
Turia Schmidt-Peke - Ahikāroa Season 6 (Whakaata Māori / MĀORI+)
Bella Kalolo - Shortland Street (TVNZ 2 & TVNZ+)
Bubbah Olo - I Got You (Vertical Series for Facebook, Instagram and TikTok / RNZ)
Rikki Swannell - Rugby World Cup 2023 (Sky Sport NZ / Sky Sport 1)

Online voting is now open on the New Zealand Television Awards website and closes at 9:00pm on Friday 15 November, 2024.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE IN THE 2024 TV PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR AWARD

The winners of this year’s New Zealand Television Awards will be announced on Friday 22nd November at a red-carpet gala event to be held at the Aotea Centre. The ceremony will be hosted by the hilariously talented Pax Assadi.

BIOGRAPHY: DAME JULIE CHRISTIE

Dame Julie Christie began her career as a newspaper journalist before transitioning to television in the late 1980s. Her journey began at Communicado, as a production assistant on corporate videos under television legend Neil Roberts but within a year she had graduated to producer on the series Mud & Glory:Great Rugby Stories.

Throughout her career, her innovative, unscripted concepts have helped to foster a unique television culture in New Zealand, and her contributions to the industry have left a lasting legacy that continues to inspire new generations of creators and viewers alike.

After the huge success of her 1991 documentary Rachel Hunter Cover Girl which became the highest rating ever in this country, Dame Julie founded Touchdown Productions, which quickly grew into New Zealand's most successful producer of entertainment TV. Many of her programmes became staples of local television schedules — Changing Rooms, nine seasons of My House My Castle, Treasure Island(now in its 19th season), DIY Rescue, This Is Your Life, Missing Pieces (now David Lomas Investigates), Matthew & Marc’s Rocky Road To… and eleven years of Game of Two Halves.

Under Dame Julie’s leadership, the company also successfully retooled overseas formats for local audiences, including the time-travelling reality show Pioneer House, Changing Rooms, Ground Force, Weakest Link and Dragons' Den, in which she appeared as a ‘dragon’ on-screen. In 2001, she sold her first format overseas, to Fox in the US resulting in Looking For Love:Bachelorettes in Alaska and then became the first Australasian company to produce for a US network, and built an international business in exporting formats internationally, achieving notable successes with shows like Treasure Island, So You Wannabe A Popstar, Going Straight, The Resort, The Money Game, and gameshow The Chair, which saw adaptations in 30 countries including the US, the UK, France and Germany. Her ability to adapt and innovate helped elevate the company’s profile on the global stage, highlighting New Zealand's format creation prowess.

The success of her unscripted productions allowed her to invest in film and drama, and she reunited with Robin Scholes from her Communicado days to set up a fiction department at Touchdown and expand cautiously into drama — with 2008 dead husband series Burying Brian, and feature films The Tattooist, Lovebirds, Mr Pip and The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell. She also owned Sky’s Living Channel and FoodTV.

In 2007, she sold Touchdown to Eyeworks International. The company is now owned by Warner Bros Discovery. Also in 2007, Julie was honoured as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her significant contributions to television. And in 2008, she was awarded the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year. In 2017, she was elevated to Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, recognising her ongoing impact in both governance and television.

A deep caring for New Zealand’s place in the world had led to her serving on boards for the benefit of the country as a whole, including New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the NZ Story Group, World Expo Dubai 2020, the Rugby World Cup 2011 and as chair of the All Blacks Experience and the hugely successful Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021, played in 2022. Her leadership and commitment to both the media industry and New Zealand's global image have made her a respected figure in her field.

After an eight-year break from television while embedded in governance, in 2021, Dame Julie acquired a majority stake in the country’s oldest production company, NHNZ, and completed her purchase of the company in 2023, solidifying her vision to create television that resonates globally while rooted in New Zealand’s unique production capabilities.

About the New Zealand Television Awards

The New Zealand Television Awards recognise excellence in television, and honour the special skills and unique talents of the companies and individuals who create, produce, and perform in television programmes in New Zealand. The Awards are open to traditional, subscription and digital broadcast platforms. The New Zealand Television Awards are owned and produced by janda.

https://www.nztvawards.co.nz/

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